Reah
Reah is a magocratic city in the Pelorian Wasteland. The most powerful wizards, sorcerers, and warlocks rule the city with an iron fist and compete with each other for wealth, power, and slaves. Size Boasting approximately 50,000 residents, Reah is one of Ioro's largest cities. A significant number of those residents are slaves, and a select few belong to the powerful noble houses that rule the region with an iron fist. Atmosphere Reah is a city of contrasts. Its dusty streets are lined with enormous shopping centers, fine dining establishments, and extravagantly decorated mansions. Massive spires belonging to the Magi, the richest and most powerful citizens, dot the city, each more beautiful and more imposing than the last. When the sun sits high in the sky, the place seems almost deserted; Reah's citizens remain indoors in order to escape the harsh light and the searing heat. In the mornings and evenings, however, the city bustles with activity. Groups of slaves trail after elegant noblewomen as they go about their daily shopping; old wizards gather on shaded terraces to partake in magically conjured meals and discuss their latest research, all while being served by indentured demons and other strange creatures; teams of explorers and adventurers come and go at all hours, combing the desert for the ruins and relics of long-dead civilizations. Some return with mysterious treasures, ready to be sold and studied; others return with only the corpses of their comrades. During the cool nights, the streets are lit with dancing lights of every color imaginable, and the city looks from a distance like shining jewel, beckoning weary travelers into its welcoming arms. Just beneath the opulence and decadence of the surface, the poor and downtrodden huddle in makeshift huts within a network of inter-connected grottos. Expelled by the Magi from the surface for spoiling the view, these filthy, unwashed masses eke out a living searching for edible fungi and untainted water supplies. An alarming number of these foragers vanish without a trace beyond the edges of the settled caverns, never to be seen again; rumors abound that they connect to the dreaded Underdark. Oppressively hot during the day, deathly cold at night, the subterranean half of Reah is one of the most miserable places in all of Ioro. The only hope of escape for a prisoner of this hell is to be uplifted to the surface as a slave, a fate of which only the most foolishly optimistic dare dream. History Ancient legend states that the Pelorian Wasteland region was not always the massive desert it is today; long ago, it was part of the Forest of the Fey. At some point in the distant past, arrogant and foolish wizards performed some terrible blasphemy against the gods. The details of their transgression have been lost to time, but it is said that Pelor, God of the Sun, punished their wickedness by scorching the land with sunfire for a year, burying the ancient cities and cursing the region never to support life again. The legend may be true, it may not; what is certain is that the ruins of ancient civilizations dot the landscape. Drawn by the power that could be gained by plundering these ruins, the most powerful and unscrupulous wizards, sorcerers, and warlocks from across Ioro gathered and created their vision of an ideal city; other adventurers who followed became servants or slaves. Today, Reah is ruled by the tyrannical Magi, descendants of those first settlers. Recently, Polytheia the Wise has returned to the Shrine of Oghma after a long time away, and rumors have spread throughout Ioro that the Magi may have finally found something truly noteworthy. Government The word of the Magi is law in Reah. These powerful spellcasters are the undisputed rulers of the land, and they do not like to share power. The Magi are in a constant competition with one another for wealth, fame, influence, and slaves, and every resident of Reah is involved in this power struggle in some capacity. These capricious tyrants relish the prospect of finding some ancient, all-powerful relic lost in an undiscovered ruin and using it to destroy their rivals once and for all. Defenses Each of the Magi maintains a personal army of his or her own highly trained guards. When Reah is threatened, these forces band together to protect their shared interest, but when there is no immediate threat to the city, they devolve into infighting and posturing. Goods and Services Reah is a center of exploration and magic. Most common goods can be bought and sold there, and the city houses a larger than average population of adventurers and explorers, all seeking to make their fortune by plundering the ruins of the Pelorian Wasteland. Religion The Temple of the Seven was never particularly influential in Reah. Although the Magi and the nobility pay lip service to the gods and maintain the Shrine of Oghma within their walls, they are far too concerned with their own power to spend much time worshiping. The lower classes also have little use for abstract, absent gods. In Reah, survival is the only thing that matters to the common man. Notable Citizens * Polytheia the Wise Notable Locations